The MAP programme hosted a global workshop for the Asia and Africa countries currently running the programme. 40 country coordinators, Government representatives, regional and technical advisors came together from January 26-29 in Johannesburg, South Africa for a progress review session. Convened by UNCDF and MAP partners Finmark Trust and Centre for Financial Regulation and Inclusion (Cenfri), the session brought together UNCDF staffers and Ministry of Finance/Central Bank counterparts from over 15 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. Two days were spent with the Asia team to discuss the key learnings and collaborate on the best ways to ensure that the roadmap is implemented and the following 2 day session brought together the Asia and Africa team to collaborate, share learnings and enable implementation of the country roadmaps. MAP Global Programme Advisor, Kammy Naidoo challenged implementers to build bridges between financial inclusion with key issues health, education, and agriculture as well as ensuring that financial inclusion is linked with the real economy.
 
Lively and robust discussions with presenters, government representatives and guest speakers illuminated the multiple elements involved in financial inclusion. Delegates expressed that the MAP diagnostic data helps us understand the consumer decision journey of the populations we are trying to meaningfully serve. “MAP is before the real work starts”